Designation of Agents, Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight Forwarders

Motor carriers of property and passengers, property brokers, surface freight forwarders, including exempt for hire and private motor carriers, operating in interstate or foreign commerce must register with the FMCSA. The collection is mandatory reporting. As a condition of registration, these entities must designate process agents for each State in which they operate on the “Designation of Agents for Service of Process” form, Form BOC-3. The form is submitted by registration applicants to FMCSA to meet a statutory requirement and is filed on an “as-needed” basis and cannot be done less frequently. Most forms are filed by blanket companies on behalf of carriers. Currently, information contained on the completed Form BOC-3 identifies a process agent for each State in which the motor carrier, freight forwarder, or broker will operate. These process agents are authorized by the transportation entity to accept, on its behalf, legal process or notice in Agency and court proceedings. Persons considering bringing legal actions against a carrier, broker, or freight forwarder may obtain the name of its process agent in a particular State by contacting FMCSA.

The latest form for Designation of Agents, Motor Carriers, Brokers and Freight Forwarders expires 2023-01-31 and can be found here.